North Texas Daily

The university and surrounding area will see new dining options this school year, including the long-awaited Einstein Bros. Bagels location on campus and a marijuana-themed sandwich shop nearby.

After being postponed several times since spring 2020, the Einstein Bros. location is set to have its grand opening in the College of Visual Arts and Design building at the beginning of the upcoming spring semester, said Helen Bailey, director of planning design and construction.

“[Einstein Bros.] is under construction now,” Bailey said. “They’ve completed exterior work, and they’re working on the interior build-out currently.” 

The project faced multiple delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and issues with construction contracts and design. Bailey said there might be a soft opening sometime in the fall depending on how construction progresses. 

Several students have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the bagel shop, and computer science junior Tyler Bowen said he looks forward to trying it out this spring. 

“I love Einstein Bros., and I recently found out there would be one coming to campus,” Bowen said. “I can’t wait for them to open. Their pretzel bagels are amazing.”

Other current on-campus projects include a career center in the Business Leadership Building where the Biz Cafe was, which has a tentative opening date of spring 2023. A lobby renovation for Kerr Hall is also planned and includes a new dining space where Kerr was. What exactly the dining space will be is still unknown as the construction in Kerr is still in preliminary stages, Bailey said.

“The [Kerr] project includes replacing the atrium off the front and that will be replaced with a new structure,” Bailey said. “We’re almost complete with the design work, and we’ve got a contractor lined up. We’ve done some demolition, but we’re still working through the details.”

Additionally, a new hydroponic garden container was recently installed in front of Kerr. Similar to the one behind Mean Greens dining hall, it will provide fresh greens for the dining halls. 

“Now hiring” and “coming soon” signs are displayed upon the cannabis themed restaurant, Cheba Hut, on Sept. 7, 2022. Photo by Brendan McDonald

Two new dining spaces will open  off campus in the Epoch on Eagle Apartments retail area across the street on the south side of campus. Cheba Hut, a marijuana-themed sandwich shop, plans to open in mid-October. 

“The vibes are amazing, and the food is just as delicious,” owner Bhavik Bhakta said. “People come for the theme but they keep coming back for the food. Everything is fresh cut daily, and you can taste the difference.”

The shop has locations in Fort Worth and Dallas, and Bhakta said he was drawn to a location in Denton due to the town’s atmosphere and people. He said he looks forward to being so close to campus and serving students.

“What better place to be than to be right here for the students, feeding them some awesome food and having a place where they can come as they are and not feel judged,” he said. 

Froth Coffee Bar sits right next to Cheba Hut and has an opening date of Sept. 26. The locally owned shop has several locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and offers a variety of traditional and specialty coffee drinks. 

Another new spot right off-campus is Slap Burger Bar located on Avenue A. The burger joint had its grand opening on Aug. 30, and its menu features Denton-inspired burgers such as the “Fry Street Crawl” burger.

With the upcoming and continuing projects happening on campus, Bailey encourages students to stay up-to-date with the construction obstruction report, which shows where students can expect to find campus mobility obstructed by construction activities.

Featured Image: The Einstein Bros Bagels store is located in the art building courtyard on Sept. 7, 2022. Photo by Mark Regalado